The Cutest Little Thing!

These are just about the cutest words that Kaley has learned so far..."I love you." The best thing, is that she is learning to use it on her own. I love it when Kaley says it, and we finally got it on video. Enjoy!

Meeting Our Baby

On Friday morning, Mark and I had the privilege of *meeting* our newest little one, just 20 weeks old through an ultra sound! It is truly an amazing experience to see this tiny little body fully formed and see the little heart beating away. It is times like this that my faith deepens even more when I think that God formed this little being to be this perfect little baby and it all happens without the help of anyone. Then to think that God made my body to work in perfect sync with this little baby to help it grow strong and healthy is even more of a miracle!

I remember watching the ultra sound with Kaley and it was like she was a trapeze artist doing flips and turns moving all over the place. Knowing what we know now, it makes perfect sense:-) This little one however, would move around some and put it's arms above it's head and move it's legs some, and even swallowed a couple of times. Such a precious thing to see. It is hard to believe that 20 weeks have already gone by, but as each new day comes, it is one more day closer to when we get to meet our little one. Until then, I know that our baby is safe and sound and doing exactly what God intended.

A Perfect Treat!

This afternoon was the perfect time to bake some treats. The chocolate chip cookies that I make are Mark's favorite, and I wanted to do something special for him. Kaley was on board with the idea of baking with mommy, but when we got home, playing outside on the deck was too much of a temptation for her, so I had to do it myself. They turned out beautifully.

Here's the recipe that I use. I found it when I was in college and I haven't used any other recipe since. It makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie. They are lightly crispy on the outside, but soft in the middle. I'll share my one secret with you on how to make them.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup of butter flavor Crisco shortening
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (Mark really likes butterscotch chips)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine shortening, brown sugar, milk, and vanilla in bowl.
Beat at medium speed with mixer until well blended.
3. Beat egg into creamed mixture.
4. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix into creamed mixture
just until blended.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough 3 inches apart onto
ungreased baking sheet.
7. Bake at 375 for 9 minutes for chewy cookies (This is what I follow),
8. Here is my secret. When the timer goes off, pull out the cookies.
They will not look done, but leave them on the cookie sheet for
the entire time that the next sheet is baking- around 9 minutes.
9. After the timer goes off for the next sheet to be done, then remove
the cookies from the first sheet to cool on a wire rack. Allowing them
to sit for awhile on the hot pan out of the oven helps the cookies to
solidify and makes them easier to remove from the pan.
Do this with each baking sheet.
10. Enjoy your cookies. They are fantastic with a glass of milk. YUM!

Easter Day and Egg Hunt

Today we celebrated Easter-a very special day for our family! We had an inspiring Easter service at church this morning filled with celebration, remembrance, thankfulness and joy. Then in the afternoon, after we all had a lovely nap, we had our family Easter egg hunt. This was Kaley's first official experience with hunting for eggs, and it was a delight to watch her excitement. She found everyone of them and only at the end, found out that there was a treasure to be had inside each one. Had mommy been thinking ahead (or just plain thinking) I would have filled the eggs with a few chocolate eggs, but the rest with grapes, raisins or peanuts. So, yes, she consumed way too much chocolate- but she loved it! Then Kaley searched for her basket and found it in no time. Thanks to the dollar store, we were able to find some fun items for her to enjoy.

Another family tradition that was a huge success! It is so much fun creating these special moments that we enjoy together.

Kaley's Easter dress.
When she looked at it this morning she said "sunshine!"
And that she definitely is -our little sunshine:-)

The lovely flowers that Mark surprised us with yesterday!

And the hunt begins!

Getting some pointers from daddy to where to look for her basket.

Assessing her treasures.

He is Risen! Worthy is the Lamb!

Egg Decorating

This afternoon we decorated eggs for the first time! Kaley had a blast getting her hands into the dye and playing with the eggs. We only had one mishap as she took two eggs and banged them against each other:-). It was so much fun doing this together. It reminded me of when I was a child and our family decorated eggs for Easter. What a fun memory those times were, and now being able to share it with Kaley and Mark is something special. We only did 8 eggs because that's a lot of hard boiled eggs to consume, but I think next year we may do a lot more just for the fun of it.

Good Friday

I can't think of a more fitting song than this on Good Friday. Words just can't properly express the reality of what happened more than 200 years ago on this day.